The present invention relates to electronic event reminders, and more specifically, to electronic event reminders that are subtle, contextually aware or adaptive.
People increasingly look to technology to provide ways in which to remember upcoming events or deadlines. One existing way that technology can remind people of upcoming events can include applications which provide no output until it is time to be reminded of an upcoming event, at which point a reminder appears. Such a reminder can be pre-set to a default time for all events, or can be manually provided by a user when setting the reminder. In some cases, for example when there is a long period of time between setting the reminder and the occurrence of the reminder, the reminder may come as an undesirable surprise. In order to obtain notice with ample time for preparation, in some cases a reminder must be set well in advance and must be frequently updated as the event or deadline nears, requiring undesirably frequent interaction from a user.
Alternatively, to avoid setting frequent reminders or having a single reminder, some applications can provide a constantly prominent output providing a reminder of the event, which can sometimes be manually hidden from view or displayed. For example, a list of upcoming events can be provided on a task list with a number of additional items that can be opened or closed by an individual when convenient. For instance, a task list can contain a listing of all outstanding items and a user could open the task list every day or keep the task list displayed.
It would be desirable to obtain a subtle reminder of an upcoming event. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a reminder of an upcoming event that is minimally intrusive. In addition, it would be desirable to have a reminder system that provides feedback to the user, along with the reminder, that allows a user to determine the level of urgency, imminence, or importance of an upcoming event or deadline other than the content of the reminder message.